19:14
Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:
14a
Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers,
14b but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
The parts in 19:14b are better or more significant than their parallels in 19:14a.
The main contrast is between the source of property and possessions (one’s parents) and the source of a prudent wife (the LORD). The Hebrew word order emphasizes the LORD as the source of a sensible wife. The Good News Translation expresses this contrast clearly. It has:
14a A man can inherit a house and money from his parents,
14b
but only the Lord can give him a sensible wife.
19:14a
Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers: People in OT times expected to inherit certain things from their parents. Houses and wealth belonged in this category. Such things were passed from parents to children according to the normal inheritance laws or practices in their culture.
Houses and wealth: The phrase Houses and wealth included houses and land as well as money and other possessions.
fathers: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fathers refers to the male head of the household. As the head of the household, the father was the one who normally granted the inheritance.
In some languages, it is appropriate to translate this word literally. For example:
Property and riches are bequeathed by fathers (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
In some languages, it may be more natural to use the gender-neutral term “parents,” as the New International Version and Good News Translation have done (quoted above).
19:14b
but a prudent wife is from the LORD: In contrast to inherited wealth, a son did not automatically receive a prudent wife. This proverb reminds people that a sensible, competent wife is a gift from the LORD.
prudent: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as prudent last occurred in a slightly different form in 19:11a. The Berean Standard Bible translated it there as “insight.” It refers here to a woman who is sensible, wise, and competent.
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